The cosmetic industry focuses much of its efforts, in regards to mascara, on increasing length and volume or thickness of eyelashes, and extending length of wear.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,941 teaches wax-free mascara compositions containing an aqueous dispersion of particles of a film-forming polyurethane, and which has a viscosity, measured at 25° C., at a shear rate of 200 s−1, ranging from 5 Pa·s to 18 Pa·s.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,400 teaches cosmetic compositions for coating keratin fibers, containing a cationic polymer, an anionic polymer and an aqueous polyurethane dispersion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,047 teaches cosmetic compositions for coating keratin fibers, containing a cationic polymer, an anionic polymer and an aqueous dispersion of a C1-C6 alkyl(meth)acrylate. The patents teach that the compositions lead rapidly to a uniform make-up result that have good properties of coating, lengthening and curling the eyelashes, as well as good staying power.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,917 teaches mascara for providing volume and/or length to eyelashes, containing fibers, pigments, and at least two film formers: at least one tacky film former soluble or dispersible in water; and at least one tacky film former soluble in oil chosen from hydrogenated polyisobutenes, adipic acid/diethylene glycol/glycerin crosspolymers, polyethylenes, and polyvinyl laurates.